In the past month, the undefeated Storm moved up a gear and came from behind to triumph over Wests Tigers and the Warriors. Just as the Storm ratchet up the play, expect the bottom teams to slow down the game over the next 10 rounds or so. Mick Potter's men almost succeeded in Melbourne.

Kicking for the sideline and over the dead-ball line, plus dawdling to scrums, buys time for a fatigued team and disrupts the momentum of a superior team, frustrating them into tempting shortcut ways to victory.

NRL rules allow 40 seconds for a line drop-out, and most teams use the time to the millisecond.

However, there is no time limit on taking quarter taps, although it is in the interest of the attacking team - if it is behind - to bring the ball quickly back into play.

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Nor is there a time limit on setting scrums, creating frustration for the attacking team, particularly late in a match. It is packed, ready to execute a play, while the defenders amble towards the mark and rarely bind. Referees are notoriously loath to blow penalties for time wasting, and rarely warn the orange (medical) trainer when he stops play to treat an injury (or communicate a message).

A forceful stab kick directed away from the opposition fullback, with the sole intent of the ball banging into the advertising on the fence behind the goal posts, has two attractions.

But it is a turn-off for fans at the ground to watch time-wasting, although TV networks might welcome the opportunity to insert more commercials. One of the few good rules in rugby union is the practice of setting a scrum following a kick that clears the dead-ball line. The scrum is set at the point where the kick was made, with the head and put-in to the non-kicking team.

The argument against this is it might curb in-goal kicking, particularly those grubbers that roll tantalisingly close to the dead-ball line.

Also, it is sometimes difficult to decide whether a kick that sped over the dead-ball line was deliberate, or simply a poor kick.

However, the NRL could give some consideration to adopting the rugby union rule for any kicks made outside the 20-metre zone that clear the dead-ball line.

Should a trend develop where the ball is deliberately kicked to bang against the back fence, a scrum could be set on the closest 10 metre line, with the feed to the non-kicking team.

Time-wasting is evident even in the National Youth Competition and, after all, these players progress to the NRL. In the recent Storm versus Warriors under-20 match, there were only 63 sets, well down on the usual average of 70-plus.

The predominantly Polynesian players in the New Zealand team walked to scrums and even strolled to take their quarter taps.

While the referee might threaten to stop the clock, this is not the issue. Players actually want more time on these occasions.

Yet rugby league has an appealing, in-built way of countering negative trends.

While some teams might buy time to avoid fatigue, or frustrate the up-tempo teams, it doesn't actually slow down the play.

This year, the ball has moved quicker between the quarters than in past seasons. The rule preventing hands on the ball in the tackle has resulted in faster rucks and great meterage per play-the-ball.

In other words, defensive kicks are down, and the final-tackle kick tends to be an attacking one, occurring much deeper than in the past.

Provided the top teams maintain their discipline, the ''rest'' - meaning time-wasting and the opposition - shouldn't hurt them.